What Happened Next
by Spirit Prisoner
Summary: Roy had fallen into the gate while destroying it. Ed, Al, and Roy come back with two new people. Set 1 and 1/2 years ago after the movie. First fanfic.
1. Back Home

_**One and Half Years Ago**_

"_You, liar! Come back!" cried Riza as Roy went farther away. Even as Roy was out of sight Riza still struggled against Armstrong's muscular arms. "Let me go! Let me go!" cried Riza trying desperately to break Armstrong's hold on her. "I have to-" her cries were silenced as Havoc slapped her across the face._

_ "First Lt. Riza Hawkeye, pull yourself together! We are in a war, god damn it!" yelled Havoc. Riza stopped all movements and was silent, tears streaming down her face. Armstrong loosened his grip and let her fall to her knees. "Don't worry about the General, he'll be fine. He always is."_

_Riza still did not move and for a moment everyone was worried that Havoc had seriously shocked her. Suddenly she got up and ran to the direction that Roy had taken in the sky. No one tried to neither stop her nor follow her. She kept on running not stopping as debris and rubble tripped and cut her legs her constantly. _

_She ran for what seemed like hours, until she finally found him about to destroy the gate. But there was something wrong. He was falling into the Gate. When Riza realized what was happening._ _Riza ran towards him as fast she could, holding out her hand hoping she would make in time. "General!" she cried out. She didn't._

_Roy slowly turned to face her. _

_Before he fell through he said "I'm sorry, Riza. But I have to bring those boys home. I promise I'll come back…to you."Then the Gate closed. Then he vanished only leaving his glove. Riza sank to her knees and sobbed. _

At Central

Riza sat up abruptly waking up from the dream, the same dream of what had happened nearly a year ago. She looked at the clock which read 6:28 a.m. about two minutes before she had to get and go to work. Hayate, her dog jumped unto Riza's bed and began to tug on her pajama sleeve. Riza absentmindedly scratched in between the ears. Then she got up getting ready to go to work. As she drove to work, she saw the city around her and how much was still under construction.

As she walked into the office, Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery looked up her nodded in her direction and went back to their paperwork. Riza walked to her desk putting down her bag and taking a stack of paper work.

She remembered how much she had wanted the office quiet with everyone working on their paperwork. But, now she would give anything to have the old office back: having to catch airplanes, in mid-air, smoothing them out and signing them. Every time she did, she would shoot at them yelling at them to get back to work. After that she would shoot at the General and try to get him to do his paperwork with out burning it. Now her gun lay in the top drawer and collected dust.

She wasn't the only one who noticed how quiet Mustang's office was, nowadays. Everyone who worked near the office or passed by it missed the gunshots, the screaming, and the yelling. Every time they passed the office they would sigh and remember the old time. Especially the times when the Full-metal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and his little brother in a giant suit of armor, Alphonse Elric, would come in to give their report. No one dared to pass by the office on those days.

As the day slowly passed, Riza would occasionally glance up at Roy's empty desk, also remembering how chaotic it used to be. One of her coworkers would sometimes get up to either get more paperwork or go on a coffee break, but they never said a word or did anything they used to do. Breda did not even scream, let alone acknowledge him as Hayate would sit beside him. Havoc had finally found a girlfriend, but he rarely mentioned her.

As it got towards five o'clock people began to pack and leave. Riza was the last. As she turned off the lights and was about to close the door, she glanced toward his empty desk and sighed. She drove home and everything was the same as it was nearly a year ago, without him.

At Resembool

Winry looked at the picture of Al and Ed, as the rain fell outside her window. She smiled at the pictures remembering the happy times before their mother's death and the very few times they would visit. She no longer worked on new models for auto-mail, but she still was an auto-mail mechanic. She had created one model for Ed, hoping that he would come back. But as the months passed, she had begun to lose hope, and the model had become coated in a fine coat of dust.

Someone knocked on the door softly, startling Winry out of her thoughts. "Winry, are you awake?" asked a voice.

Winry, for some reason, panicked and quickly tried to hide the pictures under her pillow.

Rose, who had been staying at the Rockbell's for some time, slowly opened the door. When she saw Winry trying to hide the pictures, she smiled. Winry looked up at her and chuckled sheepishly a little blush creeping up her cheeks. Rose walked toward her pulled out a picture of Ed from underneath her pillow.

"You still thinking about them" asked Rose quietly, or just a certain shrimp?" "Tell me; are you in love with Ed or what?"

"I am not!" she exclaimed a little loudly, trying to fight down a blush. "Don't you miss them?" she said turning away from her.

Rose sighed. "Of course I do but you do know that they are not coming back, right?"

Winry turned towards her in shock. "Are you saying to give up?"

Rose sighed again and was silent before continuing, "It is practically impossible. From what I understand, both sides of the gate were destroyed."

Winry was silent for a moment, tears brimming in her eyes, "But he has to come back. He just has to. They all have to: Ed, Al, and Mustang.

Before Rose could comfort her, a bright light came from outside and something crashed from the back of the house. Winry, Rose and Pinako, who had woken up from the noise all rushed outside. They went around the house to where they kept the scrap metal and out of the pile came a disoriented Ed muttering under his breath, "Could have had a softer landing." Behind him emerged Roy Mustang and Al.

It took a while before the three noticed they were being watched. Ed was the first. "Um…hi," he said sheepishly, before being embraced by Winry.

"Where have you been?" she whispered that only he could hear, tears flowing down her cheeks. Ed did not reply. He just returned her embrace.

They could have stood there forever in the rain if a scream had not pierced the silence. Ed and Winry let go of each other, and Al and Roy turned toward the source of the scream and found a girl crying and desperately clambering out of the scrap heap towards them. "Somebody help! It's Spirit! She's hurt!" she cried. Roy turned and ran back into the heap and came out carrying an unconscious 14-year-old-girl, with her arm missing.

"Winry, please help her! She was the one who helped us get here!" begged Al who was trying to stop the bleeding, but Winry was already dragging Roy toward the house. As soon as they were in the house Winry made Roy set her down on an operation table. Winry, Rose and Pinako stayed in the operation room for three hours before coming out with the girl now conscious and walking with a new auto-mail leg.

Everyone settled around the kitchen table unsure of what to do.

"Jeez, Ed, do you always have to bring your troubles home with you? Mind shedding a bit of light on this?" asked Rose as Pinako and Winry went to make tea. "What is it this time?"

Uh…Nothing," said Ed, a little nervously. Suddenly a wrench embedded itself in Ed's head with a metal _clang_.

"Nothing?! You come home with two girls, one of them bleeding! You call that _nothing?! _Who the heck are they anyway?" yelled Winry with Pinako behind her, holding a steaming teapot. Roy and Al helped him to his feet, a little afraid of Winry's wrench to say anything.

"Well, I couldn't exactly call this time! And besides one of them both of them didn't have a home, and the other was the only one who knew how get back. And, no we did not force her, because she wanted to come back herself! Also, no, I do not think that she has been here before since she is so young!" cried Ed as Rose tried to restrain Winry from throwing another wrench.

"I can shed some insight on who the bleeding girl is." Everyone turned to Pinako, in confusion as she continued. "Her name is Spirit. She was quite well-known, before you were born."

"How the heck is that possible?! She's younger then we are!" exclaimed Winry.

That's because I'm an immortal." Now everyone turned to Spirit who spoke. She continued saying, "During the Ishval war, I was a great alchemist who had also participated in the destruction of the Ishvalans. A few scientists captured me, erased me off the records, and did a few experiments, one which ended in me becoming immortal and the ability to use alchemy similar to Ed's."

"We met before the Ishval war; she would come over and help with auto-mail operations," added Pinako.

Everyone nodded trying to make sense of it all, without losing their heads, except Pinako. Then they decided to leave it be, and turned to the next question: "And who is she?" asked a hint of jealousy in her voice, Winry nodding over to the other girl.

"Oh, that is Noa. She didn't have a home and she helped take care of us, so we decided to take her with us," replied Al, sipping his tea to hide his smirk at Winry's jealousy. Silence followed afterwards, once again.

"So what now?" asked Roy? Everyone turned to him thinking the exact thing: _what now?_

After a moment, Spirit answered, "Well, for starters, we should make a grand entrance at Central HQ. Everyone nodded in agreement, somewhat smiling.

"Could I do something first before our grand entrance?" asked Roy quietly, his face devoid of expression not looking at anyone. Ed, Al, Noa, and Winry looked at Roy with a confused look.

"Hmm. Let me guess. Does it have something to do with a sharp- shooting lieutenant?" inquired Pinako wearing a smile that would have rivaled Envy's sneer. Everyone looked at him, smirking.

"I already knew. You kept looking into the distance, seeing that she was on your mind. You kept talking about her in your sleep. And you stayed up last night reciting lines always beginning with 'Riza'," added Spirit. Everyone laughed at that (except Roy with an "I'm going to burn you to a crisp look on his face".)

Ed was about to rub it in his face, when Al cut him off saying, "You're not one to talk, Edward Elric. I recall you doing the same about a certain blonde-haired mechanic, who constantly throws wrenches at you." The Rockbelle house rumbled with laughter except with two boys glaring together at everyone, and Winry blushing. Soon the laughter subsided and silence once again dominated.

Finally, Winry broke the silence. "Well, you're home now. There's no need to know how you came back, and besides I bet you could go on through the night and still not be able to explain it to us." she sighed and got up walking toward the stairs, grabbing Ed along the way.

"Uh…Where are you taking brother?" asked Al, a little worried about Ed's well-being.

"I have to replace his arm again," replied Winry over her shoulder, and went upstairs, still dragging Ed behind her.

"Alright, why don't we all go to sleep?" said Pinako, "We can all talk tomorrow." Everyone followed orders and after showing Al, Roy, and Noa where they could sleep, Rose and Pinako followed suit.

It was silent in Winry's room as Winry prepared the new arm and leg and began removing the old ones. "So, Ed, where are you going, after I'm done fixing you up? Are you going to find a way for you to get your arm and leg back?" she asked, knowing all too well what Ed was like and detached his old leg. She reconnected his new leg, and he hissed in pain.

After the pain subsided, he answered, "No. Besides, it protects me and it will always give me a reason to come and visit home." He winced again as Winry detached his arm. "It also gives me a reason to see you, the best mechanic in the world," he added, blushing firmly.

"Did he just say that?" she thought wildly, desperately fighting a blush. But she couldn't slow her rapid heartbeat. "Well, don't you get all fidgety? I know you all too well."

"Well, I am still in the military, so I'll be going on more missions," said Ed, giving a wry chuckle.

"Yeah. And then you come home, with a broken arm and I have to fix youo up again," said Winry.

"And the moment I'm within the range of fire, you're going to deform my head with a wrench!" exclaimed Ed. Winry and Ed chuckled a bit, remembering there usual 'welcome home' routine.

After reconnecting the new auto-mail arm, he tested his new limbs as Winry supervised. "Sometimes I think you like causing me pain," he complained. Winry half-glared and half-smiled, remembering he always said that. "Considering you were guessing this is a pretty good job," he commented. He turned to face her. "Thank you," he whispered.

Winry smiled gently and was surprised when Ed put his auto-mail hand on her cheek gently, Winry was unable to contain her blush anymore and was happy he couldn't feel the heat rising to her cheeks, and laid her hand on top of his. "Thank you…for coming back," she replied. She smiled, a tear sliding down her cheek. She embraced Ed again, and gently crying happily into his shoulder. Ed returned her hug. After what seemed like forever they pulled away. Suddenly, yet slowly, Ed closed his eyes leaned toward Winry his lips resting on hers in a gentle kiss. Winry, unsure of what to do, stood there. Then she relaxed and closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ed wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss.


	2. Reunions

_The Next Morning…_

"Wow! I don't believe it!" exclaimed Spirit, at the breakfast table as Winry and Ed came to breakfast. Everyone looked at Spirit as she continued, "Ed is actually taller than Winry now!" Everyone then looked at Ed and Winry to see if it was true. Ed looked down at Winry and Winry looked up at Ed. After a few moments, the house echoed with laughter. Everyone laughed remembering the times they would joke that Ed was a shrimp, which he was. Ed glared at everyone, but when he saw Winry laughing, he smiled a bit.

Their laughter was interrupted with a series of powerful knocking. "Oh, dear. In all the excitement, I had forgotten about them," said Pinako as she went to answer the door. A second series of knocks followed.

"May I ask who you are talking about?" asked Roy, who shifted his chair as he watched Pinako get to the door. Another series of strong knocks followed.

"Just some old friends," said Rose, cheerfully from beside Roy. A final knock sounded until the door came down, its hinges unable to take any more and landed right in front of Pinako.

Behind the now fallen door was an embarrassed Major Armstrong, and sheepish looking Maria Ross and Denny Brosh. "Uh… sorry Pinako about the door, started Ross then she noticed the guests that were also there, along with the men behind her.

Before she could say anything else, Armstrong _gracefully _strode across the room and took Edward and Al into his embrace suffocating him in his hold and smothering them with his pink sparkles.

After minutes past, Roy tapped Armstrong's shoulder. "I think your choking them, Major," said Roy praying that he wouldn't be next.

Armstrong dropped the unconscious Ed and Al, (Winry running toward Ed) and saluted Roy. "Brigadier General Mustang!"

"Brigadier?" asked Roy questionably, looking at a now surprised Ross and Brosh, who were still standing in the doorway.

"Well, I think we should take a seat, first," stuttered Brosh.

After everyone settled down, (Ed, after regaining consciousness, had to make more chairs through alchemy) Roy, Ed, and Al explained how they got back leaving out how the met Spirit. "That's quite a story," said Armstrong. "Well, here things have been peaceful."

"Yeah, repairing the country, choosing a new Fuher and such," said Denny.

"But while you were gone, Ed was given the position Lieutenant Colonel. Al was given the position Major. And Roy was promoted to Brigadier General," added Maria.

"What about my subordinates?" asked Roy.

"The new Fuhrer let them stay together, but things have been….different without you three," said Armstrong solemnly.

"What do you mean?"

"Things have been quiet, so quiet that it is a little uncanny. Everyone has been doing their work and all, but it is not the same," explained Maria

"Have they chosen someone to replace me?" asked Roy, a little worried.

"Yes…and no," answered Denny Brosh a little hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" asked Roy again.

"Well, the higher ups have chosen several people to take charge of them but they always refuse one way or another. For example one general was shot at by Riza because he was always mouthing you off. One time a Colonel went in there and came out crying. After that incident they haven't even tried to replace you. Instead they tried promoting Riza, but she flatly refused all proposals," said Armstrong. They are all holding out for you, sir."

Roy was silent for a moment, unable to speak. He was happy that they were all waiting for him, over all though.

"Well when are going?" asked Spirit, breaking into his thoughts.

"What do you mean?" asked Armstrong.

"When are we going to Central to announce that these three selfish bastards that they are alive?

"What do you mean selfish bastards?!" cried Edward, indignantly.

"From what I see, you all left this world along with friends and family to do what you thought was right. And what's worse is that you all left without saying good-bye. I don't care what reasons you had. That's what I call selfish!"

"She does have a point," said Maria. Everyone nodded in agreement, except Al, Ed, and Roy.

"So, when are we going?' asked Spirit again. Soon they started making plans.

After lunch they all boarded a train to Central. Ed and Al were to go over to Gracias's and give her a heart attack from the sudden arrival of supposedly dead alchemists. Roy, accompanied by Spirit, was to go to the Central HQ, and announce his appearance there. In a few hours the plan was set in motion.

Spirit walked ahead of Roy in military outfits given by Ross and Brosh, into the Central HQ. They were their military hats to hide their faces. Roy was glad to finally back, but he was nervous about seeing Riza. "Since it is almost evening Riza is probably the last person there," said Spirit, breaking into his thoughts.

"Yeah," said Roy.

Soon they were standing right outside his old office. "You ready?" asked Spirit looking at him from under her cap. He nodded. "Showtime." Spirit knocked on the door and entered.

Riza was sitting at her desk signing the last of that day's papers. She looked up when she heard a knock and stood up as two people walked in. She didn't recognize Roy for his cap somewhat shadowed his face. "The Brigadier General would like to speak to you," announced Spirit.

Riza saluted in response. Spirit nodded and turned to leave. "Good luck," she whispered as she walked past him and closed the door behind her.

Roy and Riza looked at each other. "At ease," he said.

Riza dropped her salute. "If this has something to do with replacing General Mustang, then I refuse."

"No, I am not here about that," he assured her.

"Then why are you here, sir," asked Riza, a bit hostile.

"I would like to know why you are holding out for Mustang," he said.

"He promised he would come back," said Riza. Roy could have sworn her voice was breaking.

"And do you think he is a man of his word?"

"I do."

"Why who knows how long it will take for him to come back?"

"He will come back."

Roy decided to test her loyalty a little bit. "How do you know he is not happier where he is?"

Riza looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"For all you know he could be happier where he is."

"I don't believe it."

"What is that man to you, 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye? Was he a friend or something more?" Roy knew he had stepped over the line but he was desperate.

His response was a bullet past his ear. "I would like you to leave now, _sir," _she said with venom in her voice.

But he continued, "It seems that I hit a nerve there."

Two more bullets whizzed past his head. "Leave now."

Roy chose this time to reveal himself. "Why would I want to do that Lieutenant? After all I just came back," he said slowly taking off his hat.

Riza's eyes widened as she took in the sight before her. She lowered her gun. Slowly as if not believing the sight before her, she walked toward him. When she was a few feet away from him, she did something unexpected, well sort of. She punched.

It wasn't the hardest punch he had, but it hurt. He doubled over and staggered back. Riza just stood where she was, looking at the ground.

"Why?" she asked. He looked at her just in time to see to tears fall from her face. "Why?" she repeated.

Roy watched as the woman in front her cried for awhile before walking forward embracing her. "I'm sorry," he said.

Riza froze slightly at his embrace. But for now she didn't care slowly she raised her arms and returned his embrace.


End file.
